Third-highest paid defender in the world to be RELEASED a year

Aymeric Laporte's incredible £390,000-a-week contract is coming to an end prematurely in Saudi Arabia.

The former Manchester City centre-back, who is currently the third-highest paid defender in world football, has agreed to cut ties with Al Nassr, according to AS.

He is reported to have a difficult relationship with manager Stefano Pioli and is now expected to leave the club in the coming days despite his deal being signed until 2026.

He was excluded from the Asian Champions League semi-final game against Kawasaki Frontale in the clearest indication that he's heading for an exit.

Laporte's eye-watering contract puts him third on the list of highest-paid defenders, behind Kalidou Koulibaly's £553,225-per-week and Virgil van Dijk's new deal worth around £400,000-per-week.

While the 30-year-old will not find his next contract to be as lucrative outside of Saudi, there will still be plenty of interest in his signature.

Real Madrid were said to be interested in him previously and are in the market for a defender, though seem likely to target a younger player.

And Marseille are currently among the front-runners to recruit him on a free transfer.

Laporte was part of the starting line-up for Spain when they beat England in the final of Euro 2024.

He showed he can still perform at the top level and has been a stalwart for Al Nassr, the same side Cristiano Ronaldo plays for.

But it seems any acrimony is too much to overcome and his future lies elsewhere, having joined the club for £23.6million.

Al Nassr ended up losing the Asian Champions League semi-final 3-2 and the team are also seemingly out of the title race.

They are currently third, 11 points behind leaders Al Ittihad and five points behind Al Hilal in second.